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1.29.2014

I'm Enthusiastic About: My Ombré (a.k.a "Took You Long Enough, Nami")

So, I gotta tell you, after some serious mishaps throughout my life (trying out Sun-In in middle school and showing off a head of brassy grossness, platinum blonde that was so damaged, it was practically melting off in high school, letting various friends in hair school use me as a color guinea pig - "awesome, let's totally destroy my hair!" - a foray into self-dyeing 2.5 years ago that was the hair equivalent to suicide, and much, MUUUUCH more), I had called it quits with coloring my hair for a loooong time.

But ever since my vow to finally grow my hair longer (it had been short for 80% of my life), I started getting the itch. You know the one. The "if I don't do something with my hair soon, I'm gonna F.R.E.A.K.O.U.T." itch. It had gotten to the point where experimenting with bangs and different layers was not cutting it (was that a pun? That was totally a pun.) So, I made my move.

And instead of attempting to DIY it as I often did in the past, being the penny-pincher that I am ("IN SOME CASES," my wallet screams from my bag), I contacted my man. Ok, my other man...which is to say, my hairstylist. He's named Charles too, so it makes things complicated.

Charles (the hairstylist) has held my hand through the difficult growing-out-my-hurr process. If it had not been for him, I would have easily leapt off the cliff of awkwardness and tumbled to a painful and horrifying hair death. I knew that if a man could get me through that, then he could definitely help me get my color on. Not to mention, he's a fan of color, so that was an immediate win. (Check out his instagram feed here to see the magic.)

So, after some contemplation, I bopped on over to Goodhead salon in Echo Park for some lightening and toning!

Now, there's something y'all need to understand about us Asian-haired ladies. Unlike other dark-haired ladies, when we lighten our hair, we usually have to get passed a horrible red and orange phase before getting to the blonde bits. And if you want your hair color be on the ashier side, you need to get all the red and orange out and deposit color back in. (I hope that made sense.)

Which is why Charles (the hairstylist - I'm gonna keep doing this to differentiate between this guy and my husband) threw some foils on me and got my hair pretty light. He sent me on my merry way without depositing any ashy tones to see how I liked it...but after waking up the next morning and panicking about just how light it was, I ended up texting him and heading back to the salon for some toner.

Wasn't his fault. I just have a real fear of looking cheesy. There are plenty of Asian ladies that can rock the "lots of blonde" thing, but I don't feel like I'm one of them. Maybe it's my resting bitch face or the fact that I wear skimpier stuff...not to be sexy, mind you. Just more about being comfortable. (Hello? Have you seen my chest lately? A tumbleweed just blew by my boobs, they're so flat.) But lots of blonde with skimpy clothing can be a recipe for the utmost cheese. So, yeah.

Lovely Charles (the hairstylist) not only quieted my fears of sounding like a crazy person on a Saturday morning at 9:30am, but also met me an hour later at the salon to tone my hair to a gorgeous ombré from black to brown to light brown to ashy blonde. PERFECTION! It was a feat that I never would have been able to do on my own. Not only that, but he trimmed it the day before and it sat impeccably on my head with little effort. (Sleek & straight OR bedheaded, this haircut & color is the best.)

And as I drove back home, excited to show Charles (the husband), I caught a glimpse of myself in my rearview mirror and realized that this was the color I had been waiting for all my life.

DRAMATIC?! Totally.
Go big or go home.

So, what's your hair color story? xo!

P.S. I've been stopped on numerous occasions in the past 4 days about my hair. Girls have been gushing about the dye job. Ladies have been loving the cut. Color me impressed. (Duh, I had to get at least one more pun in there.) I'm DYEING over the look! (PUNS FOREVER!)